A Happy Potato & Prepping For The First Freeze

Hello, friends.  Last week,  I gathered the last of the pears, except for a few left for the critters.  I try and get more than one use, when using the oven, so knowing I was baking sweet potatoes, I made a pear pie to add.  All the smallest red potatoes were canned.  While prepping them, I cut into one with a smiley face.  It might be a little bit of a stretch, but hey, I'll take a smile from the universe every chance I can.  I've been working on using up various frozen greens, and made a recipe which used a bag of kale, and a jar of spaghetti squash.  Knowing the time was growing short for fresh basil, I gathered basil and oregano, and made pasta sauce.

I've begun making biochar again, tucking retorts I've made from tin cans into the woodstove.  I typically do this overnight, and pull them out the next morning.  We got some initial results from the soil testing, and as expected, most of the soil was bacteria dominant, with some anaerobic conditions.  We'll be working on encouraging fungi, and doing our best not to support anaerobic conditions.  One of the main culprits is soil compaction.  A batch of cashew parmesan was made.  After J was so kind to wash my car recently, I vacuumed and cleaned the interior, which always feels and smells so much nicer.  

Not too long ago, I bought a key case that snaps on your purse strap.  Before it, I had a more expensive brand, which worked great for a long time, but found this one for less on Amazon.  The snap has never been very secure, and twice in one day recently, my keys dropped, with me unawares.  Thankfully, I got them back both times, but it was time to do something different.  J & I looked at possibilities online.  I already had some leather scraps.  J bought Chicago screws, which will be used for other things as well, and created a key fob for me.  I used a carabiner I already had, resulting in a more secure key situation.  In the winter it's usually not a problem, as I can use my pockets, but in hot weather or when wearing leggings and a sweater, I often don't have pockets, so this is a solution.  I should add that my fanny pack is always packed to the gills, so no room there.

The beautiful days we had last week inspired me to clean up an elderberry patch that had become overrun with pawpaw saplings and wild blackberries.  J & I worked on cleaning up a large flower bed, which had lots of honeysuckle, blackberries, cat's brier and some tree saplings in it.  I had asked William about honeysuckle, and he said to just keep cutting it back every time you see it, and it will eventually stop coming back.  I try to pull it out by the roots whenever possible, but will cut it back if it won't budge.  Now, if I can keep up with it next spring.  A pot of small and damaged sweet potatoes was boiled for Guinness.  

I got around to dealing with all the recently gathered onions.  Though the tops had dried down some, there was still quite a bit green, so I chopped the tops, and dehydrated them.  I'm not sure the bulbs will last any time, being they were harvested with green tops, but I'll use them up as quick as I can.  If it seems they're not going to last, I'll probably chop and dehydrate those too.  J planted our garlic, and picked the last of the lima beans and green beans.  Our first hard freeze is forecast for tonight.  I went ahead and harvested lettuce and chard yesterday, which was much nicer to do in the 70's, rather than the 40's forecast for today.  Easier too, before we cover it with a layer of plastic today.  I hope you're finding ways to gather food for your pantry, and enjoying cozy days.